Scattered Timeline
by VixenSetosTsubasa
Summary: Clone Syaoran and Sakura were both living a peaceful life with their son, and in Syaoran's case, his original. Everything was fine, until the dreams came and those people arrived. Until HE arrived. He ruined everything.
1. Chapter 1

**Note~:** This um...little (?) story is brought to you by _two _people! That's right. _Two_! It's a collab! Myself and another talented writer, Darkchibi-chan! We thought it would be fun! And it was! We didn't realize how long the chapter was 6^-^' But that's okay! Short chapters aren't as interesting right? Right! But 8,708 words... ...that's a lot for one chapter. So yeah. Darkchibi-chan did half have the story and I did the other half. I also fixed spelling and stuff, but I'm perfectly fine with that! It gave me something to do.

**Disclaimer: **Neither I nor Darkchibi-chan own it! We want to, but we can't thanks to CLAMP. Hehe, but just gives us the chance to write stories about our favourite characters, neee? Enjoy!

**Time: **During when Clone Syaoran and Sakura have Syaoran as their son. So after Shunraiki.

**World: **Most likely Hong Kong.

It was only about 6:30 A.M. light was just barely starting to stream in through the window blinds. Birds could be heard chirping their own lovely songs.

Syaoran had woken due to a certain memory that he had previously dreamt about.

It wasn't exactly a nightmare one could say, just something unpleasant to see. Especially when it came to Syaoran. Those days had been terrible, and the only way he had been able to stay at least a little sane was by...by doing certain things he really should not have been doing to his son, also his original.

Of course, back then, he didn't know that was his soon to be son. Who would, really?

He remembered how is eyes widened and a cold dread spread through the pit of his stomach as Sakura announced him, " He, who you share your existence". He couldn't believe it at first, and merely looked at his wife with a frozen shocked expression.

But it slowly sunk in, and left a bad taste in his mouth. His original was his son. Somehow, he was able to cover the shock to recognition, fooling his wife. Thank god she never found out what happened between him and the original in those dark days.

Needless to say, it has been difficult for Syaoran to stay calm and not panic when around his son. If he or Sakura were to realize what he had done...

He couldn't finish the thought. Not when his son came bounding over to him with such an excited smile. It only took him a few deep breaths, till he thought he could hold up his calm act for a few minutes.

"To-San!", his son, also named Syaoran, called out jovially.

He tried to remain calm and put on a soft smile, not wanting to worry the boy. "Syaoran" came running up to him with such an amount of energy and speed, that he briefly worried if he would trip and fall flat on his face. Because even though it was basically him, the boy still had a lot of his mother in him.

Luckily, he didn't fall, and remained balanced.

" To-Saaaan!", the child seemed to be beaming with joy that he spotted his father so early in the morning. He was still young, almost four years old now, but greatly intelligent for his age. He worried as he grew a little more older, his son would see right through his mask.

How would he explain his reason of wearing a fake smile to him then? He didn't know, and doubt that he would know when the time came. He may be a good liar, but he didn't know if he was able to lie to his son and get away with it.

"Ohayo, Syaoran!", he called back, bending down on his knees to bring himself down to his child's height.

"Ohayo!"

"You seem to be in a good mood today. Any particular reason why?"

"Because To-San promised to teach me even more martial arts today!"

"Ah, that's right isn't it? However before that, I believe we should prepare breakfast first, ne?"

"Hai!"

He couldn't bare the thought that soon he would destroy that joyful smile, tainting the boy to complete corruption. Just thinking about those memories made his stomach twist. Every time he saw his child smile so brightly like that, or when his eyes would shine bright every time he saw him, it nearly broke him to pieces.

He wished he could take it all back. Find the remote and press the rewind button to make things right. Of course, he was capable of doing this, what with having Clow Reed's magic, but using that kind of magic would bring out his "creator's" attention, and ultimately doom everyone.

" To-san, daijobu..?"

"Nani?", his child's voice snapped him out of thoughts quickly.

His son was looking at, worry dominating the joy he had just been experiencing.

"Gomen. I'm fine Syaoran, just thinking about a few things is all."

The child didn't look convinced, but didn't press any further on the subject.

"Anyway, we should probably hurry and start breakfast don't you think? We can have what ever you want okay?"

The worry disappeared, replaced by excitement that was there previously.

"Haaai!"

Syaoran couldn't help but smile at his son's overly joyful expression. He was like his mother in so many ways.

" Nee, To-San?"

Syaoran looked at his son, "Hai? Nani?"

" How come...", the boy trailed off for a moment, seemingly using his words carefully to not disrespect his father, " how come you look sad sometimes..?"

It felt like a shard of ice stabbed in his heart right then in there. It seemed his fears were earlier than expected. The child was more observant then he thought he was. Somehow, he managed to keep his calm demeanor, and raised his eyebrows slightly at him.

The boy instantly flushed, "G-gomen To-San! that was rude of me!"

Syaoran placed a small genuine smile on his lips, and placed his hand on his son's hair gently, patting his head,.

"It's fine, really. I'm only thinking about the past."

"Hontoni?"

"Hontoni. Now why don't you go get the ingredients for breakfast out while I go wake up O'Ka-San."

"Hai."

Syaoran frowned disapproving his son's current attitude, "You better not act like that around your mother. It'll make her worry."

"Gomennasai, To-San!"

Syaoran chuckled slightly. His son was so sharp, kind, intelligent, and no doubt determined to do what he thinks is best. He possessed all the same qualities as himself. Now if only he could officially dispose of those dreadful memories that continue to haunt him.

The chances of that ever happening though was slim to none. Yuuko-San had said that he would have to remember everything that occurred to him in his past life. His darker life. The life were he lived as a horrible monster. Killing anyone that stood in his path, taking anything he thought that he needed.

He watched as his son left, going into the garden to pick out the tea leaves. He felt guilty when he had to lie to his over observant son just to cover up the dark festering truth, but it was best not for him to know. Eventually he would release soon. That in itself was unavoidable. But for now, he would continue to reassure the child with warm smiles, and gentle pats on the head.

Syaoran walked into his and Sakura's bedroom, glancing over the woman who was sleeping soundly. To be honest, he hated it when she was asleep. It looked like she was dead. That was just him though and his constant fears overtaking his thoughts, so he brushed the thought away, soon to be remembered again as he would see her peaceful face.

"Sakura, you need to get up now. Syaoran is already up."

She groaned softly before slowly opening her emerald green eyes, "Ohayo, Syaoran."

"Ohayo."

"So what's for breakfast today?", Sakura asked smiling.

"Whatever our dear son decided on."

They both smiled widely. Sakura got out of the bed and made her way to her wardrobe to choose today's outfit. Syaoran opened the curtains to allow the now bright sunlight to flood into the dim room, while thinking up a decent explanation to give his son if he ever decided to bring up their previous discussion again.

Really, the child was way to sharp for his age, he mused, and it would be difficult giving him the same excuse. He sighed quietly.

This wasn't going to be easy...

Syaoran had just returned from his job, slightly tired. He hoped that he could just go straight to his room without encountering anyone, primarily his son.

He doubted that that would happen, knowing his luck.

Then again, it couldn't be nearly as bad as the time he was once forced to play spin the bottle with his past companions, original, now his son; and the people that had become his friends. He couldn't remember how many times the bottle would land on his son when he spun it, and the other way around as well.

He wasn't sure why the bottle kept landing on him or the original. It must have been cruel irony. He could still see the look on his son's face.

Confusion mixed with irritation. Small hint of embarrassment.

Back then, he still couldn't feel any emotions, or so he thought, but if he did, he was sure he would feel amused. Back then anyway. Now it was shame.

Fate or whatever must have thought it was entertaining. Always, _always_, making the bottle land on either him or his son. Stupid bottle. Someone, probably that Chiaki person, must have tampered with it. Or maybe Yuuko-san did something. Kami-Sama knows that she would do anything if she thought it interesting enough.

He probably should have smashed it once it landed on his son the third time. The first time, his son refused, the second time, he refused, and the third time, they didn't get a choice. They weren't allowed to quit until two more rounds had gone by, and even if they did, they would still have to kiss.

The events that followed afterwords were anything but ordinary, or appropriate for that matter. Syaoran was just thankful that his son didn't recall any of it...hopefully.

Surprisingly Syaoran had successfully managed to arrive at his room unseen.

Changing into more comfortable clothes, he got into bed and fell asleep moments after.

He wished every time he slept, he wouldn't dream. Because that's what he exactly did. Dream. Remembering. A dark memory.

It was before the chains caging his heart were broken. It was when he was still a ruthless puppet, seeking the feathers, occasionally finding ways to ease his insanity when they grew to overwhelming.

When he discovered his twin, soon to be son, it seemed to ease the cold numbness.

Whenever he was near his twin, he would feel a strange sensation. A majority of the time though, that sensation would lead him to do impure things to his weaker self.

Those dreadful times flashed repeatedly in his mind. He wished they would stop. But they didn't, and revealed the ugly unavoidable truth.

That disgusting horrible truth that constantly haunted him. Never allowing him a peaceful nights rest. Only once did Sakura wake due to him whimpering in shame and displeasure in his sleep.

Of course he paraphrased his nightmare so as to hide the truth from her when she woke and asked him. He hated doing so, but if she found out...if _anyone_ found out, Syaoran would never be able to show his face again. His guilt is already weighing him down enough.

But wait...can't Sakura cross over into others dreams sometimes? Oh god! Maybe she already knew! But she hasn't looked at him disappointingly, but then again, she probably would have found a reason to forgive him already. Oh god.

Great, now he would have to ask her about it. Not his dreams directly of course. Doing so would make her curious or worried. Probably both. Then she would definitely see! How would he explain himself to her? He can't lie to her! And he won't be able to lie to his son for much longer either.

Could his troubles get any worse?

There was a light tapping on his bedroom door.

"Come in.", he said drowsily.

Great. It did get worse. His son was slowly walking into the bedroom, looking frightened from something.

"T-to-San..."

"Nani..?"

Syaoran couldn't quite understand why his son looked so frightened. Unless...

"To-San...I-I had a bad dream", the boy's voice seemed to quiver at the end. He looked like he wanted to run up and hug him, judging by the way he fidgeted, but remained where he stood, probably trying to be mature, or not trouble him that much.

Syaoran tensed slightly when his son said he had a bad dream, but remained calm.

"Come over here Syaoran, and then tell me about it.", Syaoran said, sitting up in his bed. "Talking about it may make you feel better."

The boy didn't hesitate, and ran up to his father. He noticed he was trembling.

" I-I'm not sure if it was real...I guess it couldn't have..since I was older..", his son trailed off, trying to remember what he saw.

Please, don't let it be...

" I was fighting with someone...he looked exactly like me, but had a blue eye"...

...Dammit...

Fate must really love toying with him.

First making his original his son. Then making his dreams haunted by his horrid past. And now this.

Syaoran swallowed, his bottom lip beginning to tremble slightly.

"Go on.", he said swallowing, trying to keep his calm facade.

"Well, we were fighting for a while...I could feel the pain somehow...it felt so real...but finally the other me won the battle, cause he used fire to break the lighting I used as a spell...I collapsed on the ground..", he noticed his son started to tremble again.

Syaoran narrowed his eyes slightly in concern, temporarily forgetting the fact that that other boy in his son's dream was he himself. His fatherly instincts taking over instead.

He held his arm out as an invitation for his son to hug him if he chose to.

"Anything else you can remember?", he asked softly.

The small child accepted the invitation, hugging him tightly, nodding.

" I tried to get up off the ground...t-then he stabbed me with his sword in my shoulder...i-it hurt so much! I tried not to scream, b-but he started to move the blade, and I couldn't stop him! H-he kept kicking me in the stomach until I finally did scream..it hurt so much! So much!", his son started to sob slightly, but tried to hold back his tears.

Syaoran in response, held the trembling child tightly, but not to tight. He then sighed in slight relief. At least it wasn't what he feared it was. It was still bad but, not _as_ bad.

"Daijobudesu. You'll be okay. Both your mother and I are here to protect you. And also, it's okay to be afraid. And if you feel the need to cry, then cry. No one will blame you. So don't bottle up your feelings okay?"

His son nodded, and sobbed against his father's chest, "I-it was terrible! the pain was unbearable! I felt my heart beating so fast in fear and anger..but then...he didn't stop.."

Syaoran cringed at this, but asked his son anyway," What else happened..."?

He saw his son furrow his eyes in confusion

" Well..he grabbed my hair and pulled my face close to his.."

God,please god, no...

" And did what you and mother do when you get back home from work"

...Damn...

Why did it have to be that? Anything but that would have been better. Anything.

"S-socca? It's only a dream though. And you said that...you were older right? Therefore it couldn't have happened, ne?"

Syaoran was clearly trying to hide his pain, and fear, even though he had only just told his son not to do so. He didn't know if his son noticed though. He hoped not.

" Mhn, but what if...that was me in the future To-San? what if i saw my future, like Oka-san"?

...His child was to sharp for both of their own goods...

"Absolutely not. I swear that I will do all there is in my power to keep that from happening. And if I fail to prevent it, then I will take any punishment you have for me at the time."

He truly meant every word that he said. He would not allow his son to suffer that much again. If he did fail to prevent it though, then he would either punish himself or let his son do it.

The small child gave him a small smile, "Arigato To-San, hm..demo...can I ask you something?"

Syaoran smiled as well. How could he not, when his son acted so childishly and held such an innocent smile on his young face?

"Mochiron. What is it?"

His son's smile faltered a little into confusion, " Well...it was weird...but I started to get scared when he pushed me on the ground and tugged on my shirt...I don't know why he was trying to take my clothes off...but I seemed to panic from it...To-San, what was the other me doing? And why did I get so scared?"

...Shit...

How was he suppose to answer that?

After thinking of a reasonable reply, Syaoran finally answered his son's question.

"Hmm, that's a little difficult to answer really. Though you were probably frightened by the fact that he was doing something to you that you either hadn't experienced before, or simply did not understand why he was doing it. Not understanding can be rather frightening after all."

There was no way that he was going to tell him that he was about to get raped. It's not like he can just say, "Well son, you were about to get raped you see." No. There is no way he was going to say that. Plus his son would most likely ask him what rape was, and then he would have to think up a definition that revealed as little as possible.

" So...I was afraid because I didn't know what he was doing..hm...but why do you think he was doing that to me in the first place? I mean, by the way it looked, we were enemies, and he could have easily killed me, but didn't..."

Syaoran had to think again before answering.

"There are two ways for you to look at it. He could be being merciful, or not. It all depends on your opinion really." Or he could have been using you as tool to relieve him from lust. Syaoran thought to himself.

" Hmm, I don't think he was being merciful cause he kept hurting me...ah, and he had a weeeeird look in his eyes", he tried to imitate what look he made.

Syaoran tried to stifle the small chuckle that tried to escape past his throat. The look on the child's face quite interesting.

"Don't hurt yourself trying to imitate the guy's face alright? He was still hurting you? How? You don't need to say if you're not exactly sure."

"Eh? Ah, hmn...", his cheeks slightly blushed when his father laughed at him, but continued on.

"Ano...I'm not sure...it's starting to get hazy...but I kept fighting back and yelling bad words at him, so he kept hitting and kicking me..when I didn't stop, he grabbed my throat.."

Syaoran winced slightly. He knew exactly what was happening on that day.

"Anything else? Or is the rest blank?"

To his dread, the boy nodded," He started to choke me...I couldn't breath, and panicked, clawing at his arms...so he squeezed tighter...everything started turning fuzzy, and before I blacked out, he leaned down and whispered in my ear, you have something I want...," he tried to imitate how the voice went.

It felt as if an ice dagger was ripping through his chest down to his stomach.

"I...see. Let's pray that you only blacked out."

Of course Syaoran knew that that was what happened. He remembered releasing his son's throat once he finally blacked out.

" Yeah..he didn't kill me, cause I felt him pick me up, and then I heard different voices in the background that were yelling my name. I was to weak to reply to them though..."

Memories were coming back to Syaoran faster than a group of bunnies being chased by the big bad wolf.

"Really?"

Syaoran's hands were beginning to tremble now. He knew what would be coming next if his son recalled anything more.

"Yeah, I cracked an eye open and saw some portal being opened, then he took me in it, those voices fading away slowly, then there was a zzzzzzzzr sound, and the voices were gone."

"Interesting. Did he do anything else to you?"

Syaoran was desperately trying to hide his dread. Unsuccessfully.

" Well, I felt a different feeling in the air, so I guess I was in another room or place. He threw me on the bed, then got on top of me, and I kept blanking out for awhile"...

"A-ah? I thought you said that it got hazy after a bit?"

" Well, that's another weird part, cause it kept turning hazy then black then hazy again".

"Hm, I'm not sure what to say about that. Either way, you feel better now?"

The child nodded, "Yeah, a little bit. But now I'm curious what happens to "me" next. I wonder what the other me does to me...?"

"No, I don't think you want to know. If my guess is correct, you are much to young to know about that. Plus your mother would kill me. Don't tell her about any of this okay? This is just between you and me. We wouldn't want to worry her right?"

His son looked up at him, "Did he do something bad to me?", his face lit up, "I wont tell! It's a promise with me and To-San!"

"You could say it's bad. Most people consider it good, but in your case it would most likely be bad."

Then a genuine smile made it's appearance on Syaoran's face since who knows how long.

"Arigato."

"Hmn! Arigato for listening to my dream To-San. Gomennasai if I woke you.", he looked a little worried.

"It's fine. I'm a little glad that you did wake me actually. I was having a few nightmares of my own to be honest."

"Eh? To-San has been having bad dreams to? What were they about?", the small boy looked slightly surprised and concerned.

Just buried my own grave,ne...?

"Just a batch of bad memories really. There were...a few things that I regret doing you see. I can't really explain them to you. But I can tell you that it's about your mother and someone that I consider very precious. You haven't met him, and you probably never will."

"Eh? Someone very precious?", the boy looked curious now.

"Yes. I suppose he was like a twin brother. You two are very similar actually. But...he's gone now. And I'm sure he hates me for doing certain things."

The child furrowed his eyebrows together,"Daijobu To-San! I'm sure he doesn't hate you! You're a very good To-San who is very nice and caring! There would be no way he could hate you!"

Syaoran's smile widened, "Arigato. Demo, our relationship is very complicated and considering the things I did, he'd have to hold at least a little resentment towards me."

His son looked at him, confusion written on his face,"Did you do something bad to him?"

"Let's just say that I played a very cruel game with him for quite a few months."

Yes, that was all he could really call it. A cruel game. How he toyed with his emotions and body, nearly breaking him apart physically and mentally. He shuddered, fully remembering the broken emptiness in his eyes after a month passed. He wasn't sure if anyway would be able to save him. Hopefully, when he escaped from him, the others were the first ones to find him, treating him back to health.

He still was never the same again. Granted that fire in his eyes remained burning, but once he caught sight of him, those flames would flicker and die , turning to fear.

"A cruel game...? Hmm...like arm wrestling..?"

"Ah haha. Not exactly. It included a few more...limbs then just our arms."

Why did his son have to ask so many questions? Granted, he did tell him something he was unaware of and he did make him worry because of it, but still. Couldn't he ask less questions? Maybe he was just asking questions so that he could remain here with him, his father that usually tries to avoid him. Did he notice that? Hopefully not.

" Oh, so then it was just wrestling? O'Ka-San told me about that before, that you use to wrestle with someone ."

His heart seemed to stop beating for a moment, processing what his son just said

What..did..he..just..say...?

What? WHAT? Did Sakura really tell him that? Why? For what purpose? Didn't they agree to not tell their son anything about their past? Yes, he is breaking that little agreement himself, but at least he's coming up with some reasonable answers. Sakura can't lie! What else has she said?

"Socca? Did O'Ka-San tell you anything else?"

" Well, she told me to be careful when I'm older and meet a mirror image of me.."

God dammit Sakura. You told him the worst part yet.

"Eh? Really? Now why would she say that? She hasn't mentioned any dreams to me yet? Perhaps she was joking with you?"

" Well one day she looked a little worried, and that's when she told me to be careful once a incident with two crumbling towers occurs, and that it might help my future...I still don't know what she means by that, but O'Ka-San did see it in a dream, so I'll do what I must.", he finished, a look of determination written on his face.

Really Sakura? Really? Did you really have to tell him so soon?

"Ah well, I don't think you need to worry about that now. It'll probably turn out to be nothing. O'Ka-San could have just been paranoid. Who knows. Maybe she was dreaming about me and my own twin."

Suddenly there was a loud crash from the back yard of the house as well as a lot of loud cursing.

"What in the worlds..."

"What was that sound?", he peered near the window, but Syaoran pulled him back.

"Don't you have any school work to do? I'll check out the backyard. So go see what you're suppose to be doing right now okay?"

The boy hesitated a little, but listened to his father, slowly nodding, and getting off the bed back into the other room.

Syaoran sighed and then went to change into more appropriate clothing. He then headed outside to confront whatever it was that had landed in his backyard.

Syaoran walked downstairs towards the door that led to the backyard. His jaw literally dropped when he saw four people standing in the middle of the yard.

Well, three people were standing there anyway. The ninja was carrying the motionless boy on his back. It felt like his heart plummeted in his stomach.

"...Fuck..."

It was his original. The boy seemed nearly lifeless, covered in bandages.

...Crap...

Now what? They'll notice him any moment now. Plus if his son were to see his original...

God...god...god...GOD!

It was Sakura that first noticed him. Her eyes grew wide, and he feared if she knew somehow. His fears were reassured when she ran up to him,"Please, do you have any first aid! H-he wont stop bleeding!"

Syaoran's eyes widened, Sakura, to afraid of the original's health to put up her icy demeanor. He glanced at the boy again. She was right. He didn't notice it, probably from his mind going in a frenzy from their arrival, but the boy was bleeding right through the small amount of bandages he had wrapped around him.

They must have just now found him. Which meant he just escaped from himself probably a few minutes ago.

Which meant he was in the worst shape he could be in.

Crap.

He sighed, "Hurry up and get in here then. I'll see what I can do."

His luck was terrible today. Next Sakura will come home and do who knows what. Then his son will come down to see what happened.

They all seemed to be to concerned about the motionless boy to even notice that he looked exactly like him.

He quickly began unwrapping the bandages. Following with a chant to stop the bleeding.

Then, as if fate still hadn't had enough of screwing up his day, his son poked his head around the corner and gasped.

The travelers' eyes widened at the sight of his son.

Sakura stared at him closely, it sounded like she was about to ask something else, but stopped herself and asked, " I-is he alright.?"

Define alright. The boy was in terrible condition. The only thing he could manage to do was close his wounds. He glanced at his neck, which was covered in dark red marks, and he grimaced.

"I did what I could."

Syaoran noticed that Sakura was about to cry and panicked slightly.

"B-but he'll live! So don't cry! It's...been a while since I've used healing magic. Once my wife returns, I'll ask her to take a look at him...she's much better at healing then I am."

He took a deep breath.

"Syaoran, you don't need to hide. Everyone has already spotted you, so come down here."

His son flinched, and felt shame festering in his stomach for disobeying his father, "G-gomen O'To-San, something felt strange..." His eyes trailed to the motionless boy, and a strange look appeared in his eyes.

Syaoran raised an eyebrow at his son.

"Why are you apologizing for being curious? It's not as if I'm mad at you. And if you want an explanation just say so. I'll explain what I can alright?"

His son nodded, "Hai, O'To-San", and slowly walked down the stairs. Staring at Sakura. She seemed to be doing the same thing at the moment.

"You two planning to have a staring contest or something?", Syaoran asked half jokingly half seriously. "Ah, well. I suppose we should at least introduce ourselves, ne?"

Sakura and his son turned to him, both looking embarrassed now. Kurogane was the first to speak out, " Who the hell are you? You look exactly like the kid, only older, and not just by appearance..", he narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

" Kurogane-San, please clam down, Sakura's now stern voice returned to her.

Syaoran turned towards Kurogane placing his hands behind his back.

"Since you asked so _nicely_ I'll tell you. My name is Li Syaoran descendant of Clow Reed and heir to the Li clan. This child," he said indicating his son, "is also called Syaoran. My wife who has yet to return, is Sakura. Now I have introduced my family, so it's your turn. Who are you?"

They all seemed surprised at this, not that he could really blame them.

" Kurogane.", was the ninja's blunt answer.

" Fai D. Flowrite, Fai thank you.", the vampire spoke out softly.

"Mokona Modoki! but you can just call me Mokona, nice to meet you, the manju shouted out cheerfully, despite the current situation they were in.

" My name is Sakura", she glanced at his original, looking worried, " his name is ...Syaoran as well..."

There was a very awkward silence. Other than his son chatting with Mokona.

Syaoran watched them for a bit before speaking once more.

"Must you all be so depressing? I understand that you must be experiencing difficult times at the moment, but I've got a family and I'd rather their mood wasn't brought down due to yours. "Syaoran" will be fine. I don't know your story but, I can assure you that it _will_ be alright in the end. If you're going to yell at me, then do it in another room so that my son doesn't have to hear it full blast."

Like he was really one to talk, since he was basically the cause of their depression. First he leaves them with painful wounds physically and mentally, then he takes Syaoran from them for who knows how many months. He was expecting an outburst from either one of them, but surprisingly, they seemed to calm down a little.

" Gomen, we don't mean to cause any trouble.", of course it was Sakura that said this. Very much like her.

This made him relax slightly as well.

"It's alright. You aren't exactly causing me trouble. I'm glad to be of assistance. Plus it keeps my magic in check. Are any of you hungry? It's about time for me to start dinner. Syaoran, would you please go fetch some tea leaves while I start the water?"

The boy nodded eagerly, excited and slightly curious with the visitors. He paused to glance at the motionless original, then ran to the garden.

Really. He didn't deserve to have such a sweet child as his son. Especially since he'll be the one causing that very child a majority of his pain. The one that will reduce him to _that_.

After watching his son run off, Syaoran stole a quick glance at his original before heading towards the kitchen.

"Is there anything special that you guys want? I don't mind if you have a special request."

" Iie, anything will be fine, thank you, " Sakura managed a small smile. The others, still not sure if to trust him or not, stood quite.

Syaoran sighed to himself.

"Name one food. I need an idea of what to cook, and usually I get those ideas from my son or my wife."

There was a brief pause, until finally, " How about..fish?"

Syaoran smiled to himself. Both Sakuras liked fish ever since they tried it in a different world. If he could recall, Clow country didn't have any fish.

"I'll see what I can find."

A few moments later, Sakura, his Sakura, entered the house.

"Kombanwa! Minna! Eh? Syaoran, are you making fish?"

"By request of one of our guests, yes."

Then right after that his son returned.

"Kombanwa! O'Ka-San!"

"Kombanwa. So then. Anybody care to explain what I've missed?"

" O'Ka-San, there's someone who looks like you!"

She didn't seem surprised. " Socca? Well, why don't you get to know them better? I need to talk to O'To-San"

"Hai!", the boy placed the tea herbs carefully on the table, and ran into the next room.

" We need to be careful Syaoran."

He sighed.

"I know, I know. But knowing my luck today, that's not gonna be easy."

He gave a small sad smile as he picked up the freshly picked herbs and placed them in the water.

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows in concern, and gently hugged him, " You didn't mean to Syaoran.."

His body froze at this. So..she did know..

"And how long have you known about _that_ I wonder."

Shame and sorrow were quickly taking over him. Not allowing any other emotion through.

Sakura softly kissed the side of his cheek, " That night when the nightmares got worse..its been affecting Tsubasa as well... Syaoran, please, don't let that guilt and blame devour you, or control your fears. You didn't know, and had no self control back then. You could only follow instincts."

Syaoran allowed one more sigh to escape past his lips before returning to his usual determined self.

"I've been dreading the day you would find out because I was afraid of how you would react. But since it's you, I should have known that you would have forgiven me...but now...it looks like my main concern will be Tsubasa and my original, ne?"

Sakura nodded, "Syaoran...the other you will eventually come here..."

...Damn...

"When? Will all of us be here? Please tell me that nobody will get hurt. Please? I don't want to see myself hurt others. That's the only time I can't fully remember."

Sakura shook her head sadly, " I only saw them arriving. Whether or not they get hurt or not, or when they will come...I haven't seen it yet..which means we have to make sure to watch both of them carefully...he's looking for him again...'

"You mean_ I'm_ looking for him again, but does that mean that you don't remember today either? Oh well, besides that, watching both of them definitely won't be easy. Or at least watching Tsubasa. Judging by _his_ condition, we won't need to watch him as closely.

" Yes..", she kissed him on the cheek again, " Were you able to tend his wounds..?"

"As best as I could manage. I think you should take a look as well though. I haven't used healing magic for quite a while you know?"

Sakura smiled lightly, and nodded her head, "Alright, I'll be back.", they hugged each other, and she went to the other room.

Some relief spread through his chest. Of course, he shouldn't have felt so surprised with Sakura's reaction. She was a forgiving person.

His thoughts drifted back to his original, furrowing his eyebrows in concern.

How will he react once he sees him? Will he recognize him as his father? Or as his cruel sadistic, lust crazed, disgusting clone?

Either one would be bad. Especially if his son was around when he woke and saw him. He'll have to ask the child to leave the room once it happened.

Speaking of said son he distantly heard him talking with Mokona.

" Eeh? Hontani?"

" Yup! And then Sakura won the race!"

" Suguoooi! It must have been fun!"

" It was fun! Mokona and Sakura went zoooming real fast!"

Ah. Mokona was telling him about the time they spent in Piffle.

Syaoran soon found himself caught up in his _good_ memories as he finished up dinner. Everything coming out exactly the way it should.

However, he didn't notice Kurogane enter the kitchen. He was to preoccupied with his thoughts.

"Oi, you."

"Eh? Ah...gomennasai. I didn't see you there Kurogane-San.", Syaoran said, snapping out of his reverie and smiling.

"Do you need something?"

He was already full aware that the ninja didn't come here to chat friendly with him, judging by the way he stared at him.

Kurogane narrowed his eyes, " Who exactly are you?"

"Eh..?"

" It isn't just appearance, your very being is exactly like the kid's."

...shit...

Damn you Kurogane and your sharp senses.

Syaoran sighed.

"You caught me. And there's a reason for that. However, as much as I would love to explain it to you, I can't. You need to figure it out yourself. Then again. Maybe you already did and is only trying to confirm your suspicions by asking me in person."

He smirked.

"Right now my only intention is to be of use and prepare my son for what is to come. If you understand that, then please don't ask any more questions about the matter. He doesn't know yet, but...even my own child is dreaming about his future, and it's not the pleasant moments either."

Kurogane's eye twitched, " Your kid's a dream seer? And your wife...so you really are the kid.."

Syaoran's expression quickly turned solemn and his voice lowered to almost a whisper.

"Exactly which 'kid' are you referring to Kurogane-San? There isn't just one, ne?"

A sad smile creeped up on his face.

There was a heavy silence that filled the room. Kurogane was lost for words, trying to understand the lack of logic. It was impossible, unless they went into a time warp, which only happened once.

" You're back ..to normal..", was all he could manage to say. Dozens of emotions clashed inside his chest, but he didn't show it in his physical features.

"Hai. It's nice to see you again Kurogane-San. Have the others made their guesses yet?"

Syaoran's chest also had many emotions clashing inside with each other. The main forces being fear, joy, and sorrow.

Kurogane stared at him, "...Iie, just me...how did it happen?"

"One word, or name more like, Yuuko."

" _That _witch'?

"Yes. '_That_ witch' as you say. She helped both me and Sakura.

" ...What did you have give to the witch?"

Now Syaoran's smile became one of happiness.

"Amazingly nothing. Yuuko-San and my ancestor Clow Reed payed the price for us both."

Another silence. Not so heavy though. " ...You happy?"

"For now at least. Syaoran is a little bit to sharp. He sees through me much to easily. That's why both Sakura and I need to be extra careful now. All of you are here, including Syaoran, my original. Plus..."

His smile faded again.

Kurogane's eyes narrowed, feeling the sudden tension in the air," What is it?"

Syaoran began to fidget slightly.

"Sakura...had a dream...about what would happen while all of you are here..."

He dropped his gaze slightly.

"She doesn't know what will happen exactly but..."

" Spit it out kid"

He hesitated for a moment before answering.

"The me...that...did all of those terrible things...will come...looking for...Syaoran."

His voice got quieter near the end afraid of what the other man's reaction would be.

Kurogane clenched his fists, trying to control his anger. He wasn't mad at the man standing before him, nor blamed him. What angered him is that once again, the kid suffered. Couldn't fate just leave him the hell alone for a change?

He breathed deeply, "You look after your family, we'll take care of the kid."

Syaoran relaxed a bit. He could tell that the man in front of him was angry, that much was expected, but he could also tell that he wasn't angry at him. At _all_. Not even the him that is currently heartless and is filled with nothing but lust. That wasn't expected.

"Arigato."

Kurogane gave a short nod, " Careful kid", he warned, then left the room.

Even now Kurogane is the one to comfort him. How ironic. Ever since that first world they all went to together, it seemed that Kurogane was usually the one to comfort him. Fai did to, as well as Sakura and Mokona. But mainly Kurogane. he may not have intended to, but he would still manage to. Even his original was probably comforted at least once by the ninja.

His small smile faded as he thought of him. He wanted to see how he was doing, but did he really have the right? He was the one that put him in that condition, granted his past self, but nonetheless, him.

But...he was also, technically speaking, his father. So at the same time, he did have the right. A small peak couldn't hurt right?

"To-San?"

He nearly jumped out of his skin, quickly looking at the boy. He was still unconscious, so who...?

He spotted his son sitting on a chair near the bed, most likely keeping the motionless boy company.

"You're here Syaoran? Where's Ka-San and Mokona?"

"Ka-San went to meet the others. Mokona went too. I saw the door slightly open..so..", he trailed off, flushing slightly, and looked down t his feet., " I..I wanted to see if he was alright, cause he looked really hurt, and hasn't moved at all.."

Syaoran was able to smile again.

"Socca? Has he changed at all then? I was worried to, so I thought I'd come and check up on him."

The child looked worried and shook his head,"Iie, he's stayed the same...he's very still, like he might be...", he couldn't finish the sentence and looked down sadly.

Syaoran walked over to his son and sat beside him.

"Daijobu. He'll be fine. I promise. Your mother and I will not let him die without a fight. And we'll have someone here to keep an eye on him every night."

The boy nodded his head slowly, but still seemed troubled, "...To-San...is he the person you were talking about..?"

Syaoran's heart skipped a beat.

"Hmm, not exactly. It's...kind of complicated. Yes we do happen to look the same, however. You must consider the fact that he most likely does not come from the same time and dimension as us. For example; this could very well be his home world, but not the same time period he was born in. It may be fourteen years before or after he was born. Besides that, I would know if he was my twin."

His son didn't seem convinced, but didn't press on.

Syaoran looked at his original and cringed. The poor boy's body was covered in bandages where the scars were. He remembered how he dragged him to different worlds to find theories that would prevent him of dying, without closing up the wounds, or taking away the pain.

Why? Why did he have to be so cruel to his original. The poor boy could hardly put up a fight against him except in the very beginning when his magic had been superior.

Then Syaoran heard his much more innocent twin slightly mumble something in his sleep. It was so quiet, that one would need to be right next to him to hear it.

Please don't wake up. Please don't wake up. Please don't wake up.

He saw the boy twitch, and to his dread, slowly half opened his eyes. Syaoran suppressed a shiver when he saw his eyes. They were dull and empty, no sign of light or a flickering flame of strength and determination. He waited for him to speak so he could excuse his son out of the room, but the other boy showed no sign of movement, merely staring at them, or through them.

Oh god. What had he done? The poor child was a wreck! All thanks to him.

He stood slowly just in case and slowly placed his hand on the other's forehead to check for a fever.

His original didn't react to the touch, merely stared into nothingness with those empty eyes. He didn't have fever, but he wasn't warm either. Cold. The boy was so cold.

He would've embraced the boy if his son wasn't there. It was almost as if the child was nothing but an empty shell. An empty shell that he discarded after stealing all that was once inside it.

However, it seemed his son knew he wanted to be alone with him, and got off the chair, heading for the door," To-San, I think it's your turn to keep him company", he softly smiled, and closed the door.

"Arigato."

He waited until he heard his son's retreating footsteps go downstairs before turning back to his original once more. His eyes were instantly filled with pain and grief.

"God...I'm so sorry. There is no way for me to express how sorry I am. Dieing would be mercy for me. I don't even know if you understand what I'm saying."

The boy showed no sign of it, and just stared into nothing. The sight of his eyes and abused body nearly shattered his heart.

Who knows how long Syaoran was in there with his original. He had fallen asleep at some point during the night and only woke up once because he heard a crashing noise from downstairs.


	2. Chapter 2

Syaoran stood up from his bed, feeling a familiar presence, yet not so familiar presence. He quickly got up and ran down stairs. He stopped mid way and hid near the wall when he saw a dark figure, walking towards the stairs. Something didn't feel right. His body started to tremble, and the back of his hair stood up.

He heard steps getting louder and louder. Closer and closer.

He was trembling violently now, terrified.

The shadow paused a few steps away from where he hid.

He pressed himself closer to the wall, praying that he wouldn't be noticed.

He made a quick peek to see if the intruder was still there after a silent pause, and his eyes widened when he saw the same person that was in his dream. Mismatched eyes. One amber, the other ice blue.

He was looking straight at him, debating about who knows what. After a moment he started walking up to the stairs once more, slowly, silently. What Syaoran wouldn't give to just run and cry to his father. The person from his dream terrified him now more than ever.

No, he had to be strong and confront his fears. He had to live up to his father! Mustering up his strength, he walked away from his hiding place and walked toward the intruder,

" Who are you..?", he whispered, not wanting to disturb everyone else, or somehow anger the intruder.

The intruder didn't reply, simply stared at him in curiosity.

Syaoran furrowed his eyebrows, "Why are you here? What do you want?"

Now the intruder smirked, at least that's what it seemed like, it was dark making it difficult to tell.

"I wonder? What is it that I'm looking for? Maybe your father could tell me. He seems to know."

The boy flinched. Did his father know this person? Or maybe it was a trick. He managed to glare at the intruder, despite his growing fear of the other,"Y-you should leave".

"Sorry, but there's something here that belongs to me. And if I can't have it back..."

He stepped closer and grabbed Syaoran's chin, tilting his head.

"I'll just take you instead."

"Eh"?

Pure confusion was written on little Syaoran's face. What did this stranger mean by that?

"It's simple. There is only one thing here that I want. If I cannot have it, then I will take the next best thing. You. I will then use you until you break. Once that happens, I'll dispose of you."

"Dis..pose..?", he never heard that word before. Coming from the stranger, it seemed something bad, but he couldn't really tell the way he said it so casually.

"Oh? Do you not know what that means? Perhaps I should give you an example then."

Suddenly the feeling of magic appeared in the air and a katana formed itself.

Syaoran suddenly became alarmed, "What are you doing..?', he backed away from the stranger.

The older boy smiled darkly.

"You'll see soon enough."

He saw a glimmer of a blade, and instantly panicked, backing further away from the intruder, the words DANGER flashing in his mind.

The small child still didn't know that disposed meant, but as soon as he saw the blade, he had a clear idea.

Dispose meant harm.

And harm meant pain.

He definitely didn't want to feel pain. It would worry his mother and father! He couldn't let that happen! But what could he possibly do? This person is clearly much to strong for him to beat! He didn't have enough experience! He was to weak!

He tried desperately to force himself to calm down, but to know avail.

He felt his body begin to tremble, but stood his ground. Mustering up the courage he had, he looked directly into mismatched eyes,

" Leave!"

"Now why would I do that when I get to see your terrified expression so much? It would ruin all of the fun. And I'd just LOVE to see the expressions on your parents faces after they saw your bloodied and mangled body. Was there anything you didn't understand about that? I would be more then happy to give you an example. After all, how many people are here?"

The intruders smile seemed so dark, cold, and sinister...it sent shivers down Syaoran's spine and made him tremble violently.

It didn't help that he looked exactly like the boy who his To-San and Ka-San were taking care of. Why did they look alike? What connection did they have? He remembered briefly that the intruder said there was something here that he wanted.

Could it be...

"You...you're the one who hurt him, aren't you?", sudden anger swelled in his chest. How could someone do something so cruel?

The other boy's smile grew wider.

"Good guess. Does that make you angry? How sweet. You only just met him and already you care about him."

He cackled.

"It's a shame that you won't see him again. In fact, you probably won't see ANYONE again. Not after I'm through with you. Oh don't worry. I won't KILL you. That would be boring."

Syaoran took a few more steps back, slightly glaring at the other despite his growing fear of him.

" W-why? Why would you do something like that! D-don't you feel bad for doing that to him! He's really hurt!", he felt tears sting in his eyes, and quickly wiped them away, not wanting to show any type of weakness. His heart was beating hard against his rib cage, scared of the other's words.

He wouldn't kill him? Something worse..? What was worse than death..?

The other boy stepped closer.

"Why? Because it's fun. I don't feel bad at all. I don't care about what happens to my victims. As long as HE lives, I'll hurt him as much as I want. Until I grow bored of him that is. I was originally going to dispose of him, but then I decided that he may still be good, however he was already leaving by the time I returned to fetch him. It was most inconvenient."

Syaoran flinched, feeling a wave of anger sweep out of the intruder as he talked about the original. He could tell he was angry with him. No matter what, he had to make sure the intruder didn't reach the injured boy.

"How is hurting someone fun! It isn't fun at all! It's cruel!"

More anger swelled in his chest, growing by the second as his thoughts drifted to the original. How his eyes were so empty and broken...

"Urusai."

The other knelt down and fisted Syaoran's hair harshly making him whimper.

"Nothing you do will stop me from getting what I want. I always get what I want."

The grip tightened.

"If you're smart, then you'll shut up. Unless you want to experience even more pain."

Syaoran bit his bottom lip to suppress the whimper that threatened to escape. His body trembled even more violently.

" W-why do you want him back? What did you d-do to him!"

"You ask to many questions. I told you to shut up."

Syaoran felt something cold press against his throat.

His body immediately froze at the touch, going silent as the blade threateningly pressed against his flesh. There was a burning pain, and he felt something warm trickle down his throat.

He stifled another whimper.

The intruder let out an irritated chuckle.

"Saaa, that's much better."

Syaoran felt his fear consume him, feeling tears well up in his eyes, wanting to get as far away from the other as possible.

"Heh. You're so scared you're crying. How cute."

He felt anger in the pit of his stomach for some reason. The way the others voice was so toneless, it irritated him. He didn't know why though.

Syaoran flinched when he felt a cold hand slide up his back under his shirt, and cringed

The touch made something in his chest stir. He whimpered and slightly stirred, but stopped as the blade was pressed deeper.

"W-what are you doing..?", his voice quivered at the end,.

"I'm going to give you a taste of what it was that HE went through. It may not be all that bad if you behave."

He felt his eyes widen. Why? Why wasn't anyone coming out to help him? Could they not hear any of this?

Or maybe the intruder did something about that as well? He wasn't sure, and greatly hoped no one was hurt. The cold hand moved to his chest, and lowered down to his belly button. Syaoran felt that strange sensation in his chest again.

"W-why..?"

"Because I'm curious. I can't do ALL of the same things, but I can do most. I want to see how you react, and I want to see how long it'll take before someone comes to save you."

God...he thought his previous nightmares were bad enough...but this...this was on a whole other level. What's worse is that it's not even a nightmare.

It was real. This was really happening to him. Were the dreams he was recently having a warning? If it was, he was to late now.

"Y-yada!", he squirmed from the touch, hoping he could somehow find away to escape.

"Tsk, we can't have that now. You'll only make it worse for yourself by squirming around so much."

There was another stinging pain on the side of his neck. When had the others head gotten so close? And why? Why oh why would this be considered fun?

He felt something wet touch his neck, and his eyes widened, now feeling something bite him. It was the intruder. The intruder was biting his neck.

The touch made his whole body scream _danger_.

"T-To-San..", he softly prayed out, hoping his father would soon realize he was in trouble and save him.

He felt the other smile against his neck.

He was really enjoying this! He _liked_ how he, Syaoran, was trembling so much out of fear that he cried and prayed that his To-San would come and rescue him! What kind of si-

For a moment Syaoran thought he heard movement from another room, like the sound of a bed creaking. But it was probably just his imagination. Just his mind trying to give him false hope that someone was going to come out and help.

He felt the other slightly tense and bite him harder, drawing out blood.

Syaoran flinched and cringed, hoping that it wasn't his imagination, and that someone was really going to save him.

This time he heard footsteps. Light. Just barely being capable of being heard, but they were definitely real. Which meant that someone woke up! Someone would come and help him!

He felt a tear slide down in relief.

The footsteps stopped though. Almost as if the person was debating between going out now or not.

Why? If they know that there's an intruder, then why aren't they coming out? Can they tell that he's dangerous? But if they can tell that, then they should be able to tell that he was in that persons grasp! Or is that the reason why? They don't want to risk seeing him get hurt even more.

That would make sense in a way.

He anxiously waited to hear the foot steps again. Either way, he would get hurt if they helped him or not, but doing nothing would probably make it worse. He heard the intruder sigh in annoyance.

"Well, that was quick."

"Eh?"

So the intruder also noticed. What will he do though? Syaoran was scared to find out. If only the person behind the door would come out already!

The intruder gave one last fleeting lick on his neck, and moved his head away, turning his head around,"You can come out now, or do you _not_ want to save him?"

As if that was what the person was waiting for, the door bust open and the intruder slammed onto the ground with a loud thud. A sword was poised over his throat, daring him to move.

Syaoran tumbled onto the ground, and got back on his feet, eyes widening as he saw his rescuer.

"_To-San!_", he cried out in relief.

He saw his father's eyes flick over to him for a brief moment, quickly checking to see if he was okay. Then his gaze returned to the intruder. He looked as if he was on the verge of killing the guy.

The clone stared into his amber eyes dully, waiting for the other to get off of him. If not, he would simply MAKE him.

Syaoran tried to stop his trembling, and quickly wiped away his tears, wanting to move his body, but felt frozen in place.

Syaoran's father eyed the other carefully, as if he was trying to make a difficult decision. But after a moment he stabbed the boy in his stomach, or at least close to it. He avoided hitting anything major.

His father then walked over to him and knelt down.

"What was the worse injury that guy gave you?", he spoke low and sweetly.

How did his father manage to stay so calm so easily? Someone had managed to sneak their way into the house and then his son, him, was pretty much captured by the guy! How could he act so calmly? Well...maybe the stabbing part wasn't all to calm, but he completely avoided the major organs and such!

Syaoran was about to answer, but his father's eyes drifted to his neck, noticing the blood. He saw him grimace, eyes filled with pain and..regret..?

Why would his father feel regret? He didn't do anything wrong. Maybe he regrets not helping sooner? That would make sense.

He felt his father gently wipe the blood away, not looking at him in the eyes. Syaoran wanted to say something, but lost the chance as his father stood up and walked back over to the intruder.

The clone fingered the blade curiously, before casually pulling it out of his flesh. He saw his father narrow his eyes in disgust as the intruder stood up, blood plipping down onto the floor, painting the carpet crimson.

"So you're the father..", mismatched eyes studied the man in front of him.

Syaoran noticed his father fidget slightly.

"What's it to you?"

Why was his father so nervous? Granted, they did look very similar to each other...and not just their appearance. He couldn't quite grasp it, but there was something else that they had in common...a connection of some sort..

Mismatched eyes narrowed slightly," You both look the same as him..."

"It's possible isn't it? Isn't there another version of everyone in every dimension?"

"Iie, more similar..", the clone stared curiously at his father, and watched as he slightly tensed from the intruder's gaze.

"It could be that we are past or future selves of him."

The clone ignored him, licking the blood off his hand.

Syaoran looked up at his father in confusion. What did he mean by that..?

There was a moment of silence before it was broken by the intruder.

"You have something that belongs to me."

"I don't understand. There is nothing here that belongs to you.", was all Syaoran's father said.

The clone narrowed his eyes, and pointed the tilt of hien at him.

" You _do_ understand. Now give him to me, or I'll take him myself."

"And if I refuse?"

What is going on? Syaoran didn't understand.

He flinched as he felt that intense gaze on him.

" Then I'll take him instead."

"Over my dead body. Do you even realize how badly injured he is? His entire body is covered in bandages! His eyes are blank and emotionless! He won't be any good to you in his current state! It would take months for him to recover!"

Anger flashed furiously in his father's eyes, gritting his teeth. He never saw him act this way before..

"It doesn't matter either way, just as long as a have him. Broken or not, he's still slightly useful to me. After words, I'll kill him".

"So you'll drain him of whatever hope, determination, and emotion he has left and simply throw him away? That's sick."

" Why would you care?"

"One, unlike you, I have a heart. Two, I hate seeing others suffer like that. Three. he doesn't deserve to suffer that much. And four, those people only just got him back. I don't want to see them in any more pain. Especially Sakura."

The clone's eyes darkened," So, they're here as well...", his voice seemed duller as his former companions were mentioned. For a moment, Syaoran could have sworn he saw a flicker of sadness in mismatched eyes, but it quickly vanished before he could really identify it, replaced with cold lifeless orbs.

" Enough of this. Hand him over".

"That would be foolish of you. Did you stop to think of the result of allowing him to remain here with people that care about him? Exactly what good would he do you right now? If he stays here, he could be restored back to his old self. Wouldn't that be better for you?"

It seemed like his father was trying desperately at this point to keep the intruder from taking the other older boy.

However, despite his effort, it didn't seem to faze or reach the other boy.

"It doesn't matter either way.", he lifted hien up threateningly, " Now I suggest you give him to me, or this place will be reduced to rumble once I'm finished."

"Why must you be so thick headed? Three months! That's all I'm asking for! You can check on him whenever as long as nobody else sees you! I'll make sure he doesn't leave this world! If I don't have him back to the way he use to be or if he's no longer here in this world, you can do whatever you want!"

Syaoran's eyes widened at his father's words. He was trying to do ANYTHING for the other not to take the injured boy. But why do that when he was gonna give him back anyway? No, his To-San must have been up to something. Maybe only fooling the other? But he didn't think his father would _lie_, not even to an enemy.

The clone looked at him suspiciously, " Three months..? You're actually considering giving him back, just like that?"

He saw his father's eyes look away from the intruder. They looked so sad and guilty...

"I don't want to...but I don't want him to be used and then killed...and it wouldn't do me any good to fight back. From what I can tell, you're not someone I can handle. Physically it would be possible, but magically, I wouldn't stand a chance."

The words slowly sunk in, and that small flicker of hope shattered. He couldn't believe it. His To-San was really going to give him the injured boy.

" There would really be no point in that. Even if you manage to fix him, he'll still be fragile and easy to break. Once that happens, I'll kill him, so why even bother healing him if you're just gonna give him back to me?"

"Because at least then he'll have at least _some_ joyful memories while being with those people. Maybe it would be less painful for him now to die, but I still want him to live at least a little bit longer. Even if he breaks once he sees you again, he may still have at least a little bit of fight left in him. Most may despise me for making such a deal with you, but right now I could care less. I'm use to being hated."

Use to being hated..? What did he mean by that? Why would someone hate his To-San? His To-San was very kind and gentle, and very good at teaching, cooking, and all sorts of other things! So, why...?

A grin plastered itself onto the others face, and he cackled.

"I'm not sure whether to call what you're doing cruel or thoughtful. But this seems to tempting to pass."

"Sadistic bastard. Ugh, something tells me that I will be locking myself up after this...I'll be to ashamed and guilty to show my face."

The other chuckled, "So it's a deal then?"

Syaoran quite clearly heard his father wince.

"Yes. It's a deal."

With these words said, the intruder transported his sword back to where ever it was before he summoned it. Syaoran tensed, waiting to see what would happen next.

"Fine then. Let me see him."

He saw his father tense as well.

"Nande? Why do you need to see him?"

The intruder smiled sweetly, which was unfitting and disturbing to see.

" You said so yourself that I could check up on him, as long as no one else saw me, remember?"

He heard his father grumble something incoherent before silently opening the other boy's room.

"He's in there..."

Syaoran ran up to his farther, "To-San, no!"

His father turned to him, and placed a hand on his head.

"You need to go back to your room. Don't worry, I'm not letting him go in alone. I'm going in as well."

" But-!"

"Please..Syaoran..", his To-San's voice was soft, eyes filled with regret and pain.

"I promise I won't let anything bad happen to him. I promise. This is all I can do. I'll explain my thinking to you later. I do have a reason for making this deal. So please...just do as I say."

He looked down at the ground, then looked up in his To-San's eyes, "Hai, To-San"...

He smiled softly, "Arigato.."

Syaoran slowly headed back to his room, giving them a fleeting glance before closing the door quietly.

" Hurry up. I'm waiting"

He turned around to see the clone leaning at the door, waiting impatiently.

"Hai."

He quickly walked passed the clone and to the door, not wanting to be near him. His eyes landed on the original, who still seemed to be unconscious, eyes half open. Syaoran grimaced as the clone swiftly walked up to him, trailing a finger across his cheek.

"He's like an empty shell.", he chuckled, seemingly amused by it.

He didn't say anything. Simply watched from the doorway as the clone examined his original.

" Heh, and so pale and bloody..", the clone leaned down to lick traces of blood on the boy's cheek. Syaoran saw the injured boy's hand slightly twitch.

"Could you not do such things to him right now?", he spoke quietly, not wanting to risk waking the injured child further.

The image slowly turned to face him, "Hm? And why should I do that?"

"The entire point of this deal is to make sure he gets better, and I guess for you to see others in pain...and when I said as long as nobody else saw you, I meant Syaoran as well. And if you do things like that to him, he'll probably wake up."

He heard the other sigh in annoyance, "Is that so? Hm..how bothersome.." The clone ran a hand across the original's cheek.

The boy slightly stirred, and when the clone showed no sign of stopping, he quickly grabbed his wrist.

"You have absolutely no consideration for others do you?"

The clone turned back again to look at him darkly, "Let go.."

His grip remained firm, " Not until you stop it."

The clone narrowed his eyes, and ripped his wrist free, but surprisingly listened to him.

" Fine then. I'm leaving now"

He watched as the clone opened up a portal and walked into it and only turning to give one final glare and then an evil smirk indicating that he WOULD return, and soon at that.

He glared where the clone used to be at before walking toward the bed where his original lay. He grabbed his hand, slightly flinching on how cold he was, but gave it a comforting squeeze.

"I'm so sorry..", he whispered to him, already full knowing the boy couldn't hear him.

"I wish I could do more. I really do. But I'm just not strong enough."

Again, there was no response. Just a cold silence. Syaoran buried his face in the covers, inhaling the others scent, hoping it would calm him down. However, he only smelled blood on the poor boy, and cringed.

The hand in his was nearly lifeless, and he wondered if he could really help him recover.

He gazed into empty dark orbs, examining them. Searching for some flicker of light, a shred of strength left.

There was only a dark empty coldness.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: We don't own iiiiiiiiiiiiiit!**

**Note: Yahoo! I'm finally putting this up everyone! I totally forgot about it, so that's why I haven't updated in so long! Gomen nasai~**

**Words to be Translated: To-San/O'To-San: Father**

** Ano: Um**

**Gomen/Gomen nasai: Sorry/I'm so sorry**

**Arigato: Thank you**

**Socca: Really?/Is that so?/I see.**

**Hai: Yes.**

**Iie: No.**

**Ka-San/O'Ka-San: Mother**

**Daijobudesu/Daijobu/Doijubu: Are you okay?/ It's okay./I'm fine/You're fine/etc.**

**Ohayo/Ohayo Gozaimasu: Good morning**

**Kami-Sama: God**

**Names that can be translated~!**

**Syaoran/Xiao lang: In Chinese his name means Little wolf! Which is why Google always gave me Ookami when I translated it in Japanese.**

**Sakura: Cherry tree.**

**Kurogane: As far as I know, his name is something like Black iron or Black steel.**

**Fai: I have no idea. It's not a happy name though, I know that much. I think it had something to do with suffering. I could be thinking of Yuui though.**

**Tsubasa: Wings!**

**Syaoron/Xiao long: He's totally not in this story but I'm putting his name here anyway! Just in case it pops up somewhere randomly. His name means Little dragon!  
**

* * *

Everything was pitch black for a bit before he felt a hand gently shake him. He stirred for a moment before opening his eyes slightly. Somehow, he had fallen asleep with his head resting on the bed. His hand was still holding the originals.

"To-San..?"

Syaoran turned to see it was his son who had woken him.

"What time is it?"

He looked around groggily for a clock or something, still to tired to really move around.

He didn't see one, and looked back at his son, slightly yawning.

"It's eight twenty in the morning To-San...", his son looked at him worriedly, then glanced at the original.

"Ano..has he..woken up at all?"

He thought about it for a moment, trying to remember if he had noticed the injured boy make any sign of waking.

"I cannot recall I'm afraid."

The boy seemed to be disappointed at this, "Oh.."

"Gomen."

Syaoran noticed a tray on the desk, seeing two cups of tea on it.

"Who made the tea?"

"Ano..I did..there's one for you and him..demo..since he's asleep..", he trailed off, and grabbed one of the cups off the tray, offering it to him.

"I-it's not that good..but..I thought you might need some..so..."

He smiled softly at his son, not fully looking him in the eye, and took the cup gratefully.

"Arigato. Is anyone else up?"

The small child nodded his head, " The one that looks like mother...she seemed to have had a bad dream..."

He took a sip of the tea his son had made.

"Socca? Is she downstairs then?"

"Hai..she's in the living room..she doesn't look to good either..", the trailed off, looking sad.

"I see. Did you talk to her at all?"

He shook his head, " Iie, something told me to leave her alone...also, she looked a little..um..scary.." he shuffled his feet uncomfortably.

"Scary? That's...new. I hardly ever see your mother when she's angry...and that's usually when she's scariest..."

The boy looked at him in confusion, " Ka-San? I wasn't talking about Ka-San.."

Syaoran quickly fixed his words, "Ah. Gomen. I meant that they looked alike."

The boy nodded, somewhat understanding.

"To-San..are we really..doing this..?" His son looked at the original with sadness. Syaoran lowered his gaze as he saw a firm bite mark across his son's neck, unable to face him at the moment.

How could he say it? How could he tell his son that it was true, that he would eventually give back the original, only for him to be broken once again? It was to cruel..

He felt the hand he was holding slightly twitch and glanced at the injured boy.

He turned back to his son. He couldn't stay silent, that would worry the child further.

"Daijobudesu. I know what I'm doing. I have my reasons for requesting only three months. It's one of the upsides of being me."

He couldn't help but ruffle his son's hair reassuringly.

The action seemed to comfort the child a little, and he saw a small smile on his face

"Nee, To-San, quit that!", the child huffed. He managed a light chuckle.

It must have been nice being a child. There wasn't much you needed to worry about, and if there was, they could look at the positive side of it.

"Don't lose faith in me just yet. I can explain everything to you some other time, kay? But not just yet. The truth about everything will be revealed in the end. And I assure you that all of us will be awake and alive when it happens. But for now, I just want you to do your best and help me help him,", he looked at the original,"recover. And please don't tell the others just yet. If they ask, I'll be the one doing the explaining okay?"

The boy nodded, "Hai, To-San. I'll do my best." A look of determination burned in his eyes, eager to help out in anyway, shape, or form.

"Arigato. Then could you keep an eye on him while I start breakfast?"

"Hai, To-San!"

He smiled gently at him, but still unable to look directly in his eyes. He gave his original one last fleeting look before releasing the unconscious boy's hand, stood up, and walked out the door.

He noticed the younger Sakura sitting on the living room couch, a troubled look shadowing her face.

Was her dream that bad?

She somehow felt his presence and turned her head, looking slightly surprised at first, but relaxed a bit with a soft smile, "Oh, good morning. Thank you again for letting us stay the night..."

"Iie. It's completely fine. You can stay for as long as you need. I have no objection. And Syaoran's injuries will take time to heal, so it may be best if you stay until he is fully healed. Physically _and_ emotionally. I don't know about his mental state..."

The girl seemed at the verge of tears as he mentioned the condition of the boy, but she held them in place, trying to remain strong.

The poor girl looked like she was about to fall apart herself

"Arigato, demo, we shouldn't be here long. We don't want to trouble you, and if we do stay here then..", she trailed off, clenching her fists," ...he'll come..and harm you..and your family.."

He walked over and sat beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder gently.

"To be honest, I'm not the least bit concerned about that person. If he does come, I'll find some way to make him leave and not hurt any one of us. And you shouldn't bottle up your emotions like that. It only makes it hurt more. Besides that, it may be better for all of you to stay here. Heaven knows that if you were all to leave, my son would be worried sick about all of you."

Sakura looked at the ground, her hair now covering her eyes, "I know if we stay here, Syaoran will be able to recover at least a little bit...and I know you'll try to prevent anything bad happening to anyone..demo...", she stayed silent for a moment, as if choosing her words carefully," ...staying here...will cause your son danger...and...bring great pain to all of you...I...I don't want that to happen..."

She fisted her hands until the started to bleed, body beginning to tremble.

Syaoran's eyes softened in understanding and placed his hand on her own.

"Daijobu. We know full well of what it is we are getting involved with. My son is only four, but he's surprisingly very mature and intelligent, not to mention sharp. It's rather troublesome sometimes. But I highly suggest that you listen to me. I think you'll find it much more peaceful then you predict it to be. Or did you have a dream telling you of what is to come?"

The girl shook her head," I'm not sure...the dream itself was unclear, and was usually hazy and unfocused, as if it shouldn't be seen...I only saw small fragments...and even that is unclear..."

She looked up at him, her eyes glazed with tears, " Are you sure about this..? Us staying here..? We have caused such pain and disaster to others who tried helping us...I don't want the same thing..to happen to anyone else..ever..."

Small delicate tears slid down her shimmering emerald eyes.

"Socca...?", he wiped away one of the tears trickling town her cheeks.

"Please don't worry yourself about it. If it becomes clearer, then feel free to talk about it. We can think of something together that way. And even if you have caused pain for others, I assure you, that I am one hundred percent positive that you should stay here. Two months for Syaoran's injuries to fully heal, and one more month just to be sure that you are all prepared. We'd be more than happy to teach healing techniques and such."

The tears seemed to flow down endlessly from her eyes, " A-ariga..to..", her voice trembled at the end.

Pure emerald shined with such gratitude and great relief, it nearly tore his heart in two just gazing at them.

" Thank you..so much..!", all of those emotions, all that sadness and worry she had bottled up inside her slowly released inside, and she suddenly embraced him in a tight hug.

He held her gently, stroking her hair in attempt to quell her pain.

"I'm glad to be of use. And I intend to do all that I can to continue being useful."

He felt her nod against his chest, feeling the tears sweep through his clothing. But he ignored it, holding the crying girl close, trying in anyway way to prevent her from shattering to pieces.

"Everything will be alright, you'll see. As long as all of you continue to stick together and continue moving forward, you'll get through this. Every journey made has to have at least _some_ pain. Some more than others. But there are also many joyful times before and after the pain. I know that for a fact. Just be sure to not regret any of your decisions."

The princess nodded her head again, and he felt her smile a little. There was a moment of silence before she pulled back, looking apologetic," Ah, gomen...I..couldn't help myself..", she blushed, a tinge of pink covering her cheeks.

He chuckled.

"It's fine. How do you feel now that you've got some of your emotions out?"

Sakura paused for a moment, but smiled softly, " Much better. My chest feels so much lighter now..", she sighed softly.

"Excellent. Then to avoid any unnecessary guilt, why don't you help me prepare breakfast?"

"Eh? Ah! H-hai!", she quickly stood up off the couch, rubbing her eyes to wipe away the remaining tears.

Syaoran stood up as well, chuckling as he watched the younger Sakura become more and more flustered, not to mention embarrassed. Almost like she use to be before she lost her memory in Clow...carefree and innocent.

He shook his head, trying not to think about it. Though some were good memories, it still made his heart ache. Sakura looked at him with concern, "Ano...doijobu..?"

"Gomen, I'm fine. Just thinking is all. Anyways, what do you think we should make for breakfast today?"

The princess paused to think for a moment,"Ano.."

She was about to reply, but both suddenly heard incoming footsteps.

"Oh my, am I interrupting something?"

It was Fai. He was standing at the top of the stairs smiling slightly.

"Ohayo, Fai-San.", Syaoran greeted warmly, returning the smile.

The vampire smiled, " Ohayo, thank you for your assistance".

"Don't mention it. I'm happy to be of service."

The vampire nodded. "Ohayo, Sakura-chan."

The princess lightly smiled," Ohayo, Fai-San."

The vampire's smile widened a bit, noticing how she looked much more relaxed and less tense, "If you don't mind my asking, what was it I heard about breakfast?"

"Ah that. We were just trying to think of what we could make today. You have any ideas Fai-San? I'm drawing a blank, seeing as I don't really know as to what all of you like to eat."

The smile on the other male's face seemed to widen again," Ah, I know just the thing! Pancakes~~~~"

Syaoran couldn't help but chuckle at the others attitude. "I didn't think Kurogane-San liked pancakes. Guess I'm wrong."

Of course he was well aware that the ninja wasn't very fond of sweets, but he figured he could find a way to adjust them to the man's taste.

"Eh? No, I don't think he does..", Sakura slowly stated.

Fai merely smiled," Neee, he'll still eat it though~~"

He chuckled again. "That's what I thought. I'll make him some that aren't as sweet then."

The other smiled, "Ah, arigato. I'm sure Kuro-Sama would appreciate it!"

Well it seemed that Fai was acting like his old self again. Hopefully he wasn't pretending just to make everyone else happy. He didn't think that that was the case. Sakura or Kurogane would have said something to him about it by now.

"Well then, let's get started. It's already 9:00."

"Hai!", Sakura slightly smiled, Fai doing the same.

They all walked into the kitchen. Syaoran saw something in the corner of his eye outside, and looked out the window. It was his wife, sitting on the grass near the pond.

Why was she outside..?

"Is something wrong?", he turned to see Sakura and Fai looking at him curiously.

"Good question. Excuse me for a moment."

He went out the back door to quickly enter the garden. The scent of dirt and fresh flowers filled his nostrils.

He slowed down as he came closer to his wife.

"Sakura...?"

His wife turned, looking surprised at first,but smiled softly," Ohayo, Syaoran."

"Ohayo. May I ask what brought you out here this morning?"

His wife smiled, "Mhn. I'm not really sure myself. Something just told me to...," She gazed at the sky," The sun is bright today, ne?"

He looked up as well, "Ah...it sure is. I wonder why."

"Mhn..ne, Syaoran...?"

He turned his gaze back to his Sakura, "Nani?"

Her smile was replaced with a concerned frown," Did anything..happen last night..?"

He sighed. It figures that something like this would be brought up.

Well...no use in hiding it. She's bound to find out sooner or later.

"I...made a deal...with my past self..."

Her frown deepened, " A deal..?"

"Yes...it was the only thing I could do. I'm not strong enough to fight him...and I can't bare to lose anyone...not again. So I made a deal.", he took a deep breath, "We have three months to make Syaoran almost exactly the same way he was before...before he broke.."

He winced when the word left his lips, but continued.

"He's allowed to check on him whenever he wants as long as nobody sees him. And if by the end of three months Syaoran isn't better, he's allowed to do whatever he wants."

He looked away from her, not wanting to see her expression.

There was a moment of silence. It was torture, waiting to hear what she would say.

"...What is it you're planning to do..?"

Syaoran turned to her, surprised to see her voice looking serious, but not an ounce of anger on her.

Another sigh.

"Exactly as I said I would. At the end of three months, I'll give him Syaoran. The only reason I'm giving him up so willingly is because I know what will happen. Nothing. My past self will never have time to do anything to him. _He_ will be getting impatient and demanding that my past self collect more feathers constantly. I hardly got a break. And when I did, it was for only about a minute or two."

Although, he wasn't entirely sure about that. Sure, he briefly remembered that the search for feathers increased, but his memory of that time was foggy, so he wasn't sure if he was able to do anything to his original or not.

Hopefully not.

Sakura slowly processed the words, " I..see..", she smiled sadly. She looked up at the sky again," Syaoran..do you know why this is happening to him..?"

"I don't, and I'm not sure if I really want to know. And I am going to pray to Kami-Sama every single night that I am making the right decision. I'm probably going to be hated or something once all of _them_ find out."

She shook her head," Iie, they won't hate you...but also...the reason why this is happening to him...is because he turned back time.."

"Lesson to be learned, don't mess with time, it'll screw your life up more than anything else."

"Yeah...he has to repent for all the people's lives he changed...every single last one...and so..his life will be nothing but suffering...", she looked down at the ground.

"Do we have to send him to Clow? I know his Sakura is there and all but still. I don't want him to suffer like that."

Her eyes saddened at this,"Unfortunately, his suffering will never end until his last breath..."

Until his last breath? That was when his suffering would end? When he was dead? That was to cruel! Yes, he was paying a price for commiting the ultimate sin, but he didn't do it out of self gain! He just wanted to save his Sakura! Was that so wrong? To save a life? !

Wasn't losing his time _and_ freedom enough? Why does he have to suffer for the rest of his life? How is that a fair price? It's to much! Reviving the dead is reasonable, but turning back time and paying that price is just cruel!

He clenched his fists in anger. There was no way he was going to let that happen. He would _not_ let _his_ son suffer!

But what could he do? What? He was the main source of the boy's suffering and terror, so how could he prevent that from happening? Sakura said the reason why he even did those things to his son, was because it was part of the price for turning back time...

Yeah right. That wasn't it at all. He did it because he _wanted_ to. He knew what he was doing and he knew he could stop if he wanted to. But he didn't. He didn't want to. He felt complete, alive, when he was with him. It wasn't just instinct. And it wasn't to make his original pay for his sins, that was only a tenth of the reason.

Or maybe the action, the feelings he had was created from the price? It didn't really matter either way. He would have done it. Maybe not if he knew his original was his son.

Or maybe he still would have. He wasn't sure. But what killed him was that he still felt that way. How he still yearned to touch the boy. To feel his smooth skin. To taste his lips.

God he was so mentally fucked up. It's amazing how much control he seemed to have over himself considering how strong the urges were. Except for that one time. He had to lock himself up in his room because he was feeling ill, thus his control was much weaker. Luckily it was Sakura and not his son that tended to him at that time.

If it was his son that came instead of Sakura...He didn't even want to think about it. Didn't want to think of the out come after words if it _did_ happen. After that day though, his control was much better, and he was actually able to look at his son in the eye.

But then his original just had to show up. And he just _had_ to stay with him, in order for his wounds to heal. God, it was just so _tempting_, seeing the unconscious boy laying on the bed. It was as if the opportunity was just given to him.

Scratch that, it _was_ given to him. And now it's yelling at his face to get in that room. Like he would though. He would not give into temptation. Or lust. _Or_ instinct. He would not. He would kill himself if he did.

The damn brat just _had_ to be so weak and vulnerable.

The boy had no _idea _how difficult he made his life. He was surprised he didn't do anything to the boy that night he stayed with him. Maybe it was pity that suppressed those urges. But that wouldn't last long. Eventually, his body wouldn't care about that, and would do what it pleased, what it _yearned_. Just thinking about his original made a shiver run down his spine.

There was a good chance that he would come close to losing all control during these three months. He just didn't know when, which greatly worried him.

He had to make sure to keep his distance from the boy. But he couldn't even do that if he was to heal him.

A thought struck him. What if the reason why he even _considered_ making a deal with his past self for the original to stay with him for three months, was to keep him for himself? God, he hoped not. But it was quite possible.

If that was the case, then he was one possessive, lust crazed, greedy bastard. God that better not be the case.

And if it was, then what? He couldn't help but feel the way he felt, no matter how wrong it was to others. Frankly, he didn't really care, viewing at as something trivial. But he was certain his wife wouldn't be to happy if she found out he yearned for his..son...

Why did life have to be so difficult? It would be so much better if everyone could just except these things and get over it.

Then it would just be so much _easier_. He wouldn't have to suppress those urges, and just go for the hell of it. He wouldn't have to bite his hand till it bleed to contain them. But then again, he wasn't sure if the boy would even allow it, seeing as he only seemed to love his Sakura. But that couldn't be true, could it?

After all...they were the same person. It would only make sense if they both had the same emotions and therefore the same lover.

Then again, his original was stubborn as hell, and probably flat out denied it. Which was probably why he reduced to torturing him, brutally beating him, venting out his anger.

He didn't want to admit the other part, but he enjoyed torturing him, hearing him scream out in pain. It made his stomach flutter for some reason.

There must have been something seriously wrong with him. Didn't he regret doing that to him afterwards? By the way his past self reacted, no. He wanted more. Hear those screams coated with pain. See those eyes widen and shimmer in agony. Feel those weak hands reluctantly curl in his hair.

It was addicting.

That one fact scared the living daylights out of him. He should _not_ love hearing his son scream in pain. Should _not_ enjoy hearing him whimper and moan. It was _wrong_.

Completely wrong. And yet, just thinking about it, imagining hearing them, made heat swell in his stomach. Yeah...he had to make sure to stay away from the weak boy tonight.

"Syaoran?", his wife looked at him curiously,"Something wrong..?"

"Eh? Ah, no. Gomen. Just thinking is all."

Thank god Sakura couldn't read minds. Otherwise, he would have a _lot_ of explaining to do.

"I don't know...I still think that we shouldn't send Tsubasa to Clow. Or maybe one of us could go with him! Wouldn't that be okay? At least then one of us would be there to help him."

It really did seem like a reasonable idea.

She looked at him curiously, as if deciding if that would be a good idea or not. After all, they were created from his choice back then. If they do anything to change that, neither of them would exist.

"Ah well, we can discuss this later I guess. The other Sakura and Fai-San are already awake and waiting for me to return to the kitchen. We're suppose to be making breakfast right now."

She blinked for a moment," Eh? They're already awake?"

"Hai. Tsubasa was worried about Syaoran and when he noticed me, he made some tea and woke me. Sakura was already downstairs, she had something like a vision. She said it was blurry and unfocused though. Then Fai-San came down."

" Ah..I see, well then..", she rose up on her feet and smiled," we shouldn't keep them waiting. He faked a smile of his own, thoughts still dark about the original.

"Yes. We're having pancakes just so you know. Fai-San's idea. Which is why I need to adjust the recipe to fit Kurogane-San's taste."

She laughed at this, gentle and heart warming, " I'm sure he will appreciate that"

"That's the point. Heaven knows what would happen if we had an irritated Kurogane and an over active Fai on our hands."

She smiled," Ah. shall we go then?"

He continued forcing a smile to not concern his wife,"Ah, lets go"

They walked side by side back to the house.

When they walked back in the kitchen, the other Sakura and Fai were currently looking around, no doubt searching for where all the ingredients and supplies were.

The current princess saw them out of the corner of her eye, and turned, smiling at them, "Ah, welcome back, gomen, w-we don't know where anything is..."

"I'm sorry. I got distracted. I'll get everything out."

" Ah, arigato, we tried starting without you so you could have less to do..demo..", she smiled bashfully. He couldn't help but smile himself. Seeing the girl look so much better, eyes filled with more light than before when she arrived here.

"Thank you. I appreciate the thought."

He walked into the kitchen and started getting out all of the necessary ingredients.

It was a good thing he had something to do now. It was distracting him, letting him forget the wild urges, and the impure thoughts, now slowly drifting away.

His mind was now focused on breakfast.

How long would something like breakfast distract him though? Eventually it wouldn't be capable of distracting him. And the day it happened will be the day he gets so distracted that he makes a mistake while cooking.

Luckily today was not that day.

Things went fairly smooth. Making breakfast with the others was interesting, and quite entertaining for him. It brought back memories, and he wondered if it was the same with his wife. Did she remember as well?

It wouldn't be surprising if she did. It's hard not to remember the old days with Fai around. Seeing as he's laughing and calling Kurogane names again.

The atmosphere was light, and heart warming, and he dreaded for it to end. Cause they always do.

Nothing lasts forever. He knew that all to well.

Yet he couldn't help but hope. Hope that everything would be blissful, everyone smiling and laughing, no care in the world. Just simply being happy.

Like a never ending dream of happiness. But..the dream always had to end..

It seemed that the good dreams always ended faster than the bad dreams. Always. Or the dream would start out happy and end as a nightmare.

That was life, supposedly. That's how it was meant to be. Otherwise, without the good times, no one would appreciate the bad times. Although, they all shared more of the bad times instead of the good.

How was that fair?

He shook his head, blocking the thoughts way as they depressed him. There was no need to think about that right now. All he could do, was savor the moments while they lasted.

* * *

**A/N: And thus we end another chapter. But hey, look forward to the next one, we've got a M scene coming up! In fact, that's all it'll pretty much be. Heh heh. Poor, poor Syaoran. Both Syaoran's. Father and Original. Oh my Kami-Sama! There are to many Syaoran's! Soooo, who's kind enough to press the review button today?**


	4. A title from me is bad, guys

**So...You guys are probably really hating me right now, and honestly, I don't blame you. The last legitimate update you guys got on this was February, 2011. Well...You aren't getting an update today either.**

**I truly do apologize for this. I can't even say I have a real excuse for the lack of update. Part of the problem is that I really just have not been into Tsubasa for awhile now (shocking, I know). I can't do anything with it, and it's horrible. You may or may not be aware (like I could remember if I mentioned it), but my partner, Darkchibi, and I always role play together. We've been doing it for at least three years now, and until some point during 2012, I just could not do anything remotely related to Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle.  
**

**We ended up switching over to Mother 1, Earthbound, and Mother 3, with some Super Smash Brothers and Pokemon on the sideline. I can tell you that those rps get damn tragic and seriously fucked up. I think this story could have influenced our non-ability to do anything happy.  
**

**But going back to the point, ever since 2012, possibly some point during 2011, writing, drawing (I never did that lol), role playing, to even _fantasizing _about Tsubasa has become more or less impossible for me. I don't know if I'll get back into it anytime soon, I strongly doubt it. However, we do have a part of the next chapter typed out. That was another issue actually. The next chapter had something in it that I had difficulty typing out, so I had to convince Darkchibi to do it for me.  
**

**The chapter isn't complete, and that's why it isn't up yet. I also don't come onto this account very often anymore, and that's where all of my stories that are Tsubasa related go.  
**

**Again, I really am sorry. I know how frustrating it must be for you guys. I would love to update this to make you guys feel better, but considering the state I'm in regarding TRC, I don't want to disappoint you with a really horrible chapter. That's what would happen if I started trying to type for it right now. It would turn out really shitty because I was forcing myself to write for it.  
**

**So unless you really want to see an update that badly, it might be in your best interest to either:  
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**A) Abandon this and forget about it.  
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**B) Don't abandon it, and keep on waiting, because there might be a slim chance for an update.  
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**C) Pester the fuck out of me to start writing again.  
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**D) PM me and attempt to get me back into the story.  
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**or **

**E) Some other option that I can't think of right now.  
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**That's what I'm suggesting right now. But like I said, I don't come on this account very often, so if you choose C, D, or possibly E, you're going to have to contact me on a separate account. Because yes. I have two. I may consider making a third one, purely because my second account is strictly for my Mother rps and stories (which I only have one, and I really need to fix it before I even consider updating).  
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**In the meanwhile though, my other account is Seto Vene, and you'll almost always find me logged in to there. If I'm _not_ logged on for some reason, it's more than likely because of either schoolwork (this is almost never the reason), I'm cooking, playing video games, sleeping, at a friends, or drawing.  
**

**So...Yeah. I can't apologize enough, and to anyone who selects option B (which basically goes hand-in-hand with C, D, and possibly E), I love you, and I can't thank you enough for choosing to wait. All you A's...Well, it might be for the best if your impatient or something. I'm thankful to you too for reading this.  
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**Here's to hoping I'll get back into writing this again!  
**


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